greatest achievements would not have been possible without immigrants. Although American was portrayed as a golden land full of hope and opportunity, by the time the second big wave of immigrants arrived, it was almost as much of a struggle to live in the US as in their former countries. Many immigrants were victims of harsh

discrimination and were forced to live in slums. They had their hopes and dreams dashed by overcrowding and nativists trying to swindle

the immigrants out of what little money they still possessed after traveling to America.

To begin with, immigrants, upon entering the country, were stripped of all their dignity and pride if they did not conform with American society. Hate groups and discriminators were almost unchecked in their poor treatment of immigrants. Groups like the APA, KKK, and the Know-Nothings were created, or, if already in

existence, expanded their evil ways to include immigrants an

On top of the bad decisions of others, immigrants had to deal with poor living conditions. Being an immigrant meant starting over completely. Unless immigrants were lucky enough to already have help in their strange new homes, they had to find housing themselves. It was very likely that the only shelter they could find with the little money they had would be tenement housing. Tenements were poorly built buildings with bad lighting, little, if any

or practice their favored religion without too much fear of persecution. They were only partially safe from discrimination because they lived in large numbers in one concentrated area.

plumbing, thin walls with too many people in the cramped rooms and little or no furniture provided. Immigrants had to not only endure the

Some topics in this essay:
Chinese America, United America, Northwestern Europe, DC Immigrants, America Despite, KKK Know-Nothings, little money, american society,